Snow-day dilemma: Parents become jugglers when schools close

For kids, the two words are almost magical: "snow day." But for working parents those two words can hurt their finances or their ability to focus on their job if they work from home.

CHAD SMITH

For kids, the two words are almost magical: "snow day."

But some working parents in the Poconos say that staying home to accommodate their children when schools are closed due to foul weather, though enjoyable at times, can hurt their finances or their ability to focus on their job if they work from home.

"If I don't work, I don't get paid," said Wilfredo Aseng, a contractor from Bushkill, who stayed home to take care of his four children, the eldest 13, the youngest 6, last week when the children had a snow day.

Aseng's wife works at the Crayola Factory in Easton, so it's a bit harder for her to take a day off.

"We feel lucky that at least I can take care of the kids when school is closed," Aseng said. "But I won't be making any money that day."

Jennifer Ace, a real estate broker from East Stroudsburg, said that she can still get work done when her kids and their friends are home on snow days.

"Thank goodness for e-mail," she said. "There's no audio."

But the youngsters tend to grow hyper around 11 a.m. Ace, whose husband is a contractor who also plows streets when it snows, usually works in an office building but she said she can easily work from home. Still, making business calls when kids are in the vicinity can sometimes be tricky, she said. "If they weren't screaming when I started the call, they notice I am on the phone and start screaming "» pure joy!"

According to a recent study by the research firm IHS Global Insight, snowy and icy weather is also bad for the overall economy.

Retail stores that do open in poor weather often see fewer customers, and the government can't collect millions of dollars in income tax from workers who are paid on an hourly basis, that is, non-salaried employees.

Aseng, the contractor, said that he and his wife had considered leaving their kids at home without any adult supervision on snow days, but decided they didn't feel comfortable with the practice.

There are no laws in Pennsylvania regulating how old a child must be before he may stay home alone. However, 15 states in the U.S. do have laws that require a child to be of a certain age before being allowed to be left at home unsupervised.

Though the ages among those states vary, the average age is 10½.

The local YMCA offers programs for kids whose parents aren't able to pick them up or drop them off from school during standard times. Officials at the YMCA say they will look after kids in these programs for an entire snow day if need be. The programs cost over $100 a month.

Ace, the real estate broker, perhaps put it best.

She said that she loves spending time with her kids and their friends on snow days, but "I'm happy when school is on the next day."